CAIRO: A few years ago, the word blog would have mostly likely been met with blank stares or looks of confusion. In 2004, Egypt had only 40 registered blogs, and the idea of posting thoughts on personal web pages for the public to read was virtually unheard of at the time. Today, however, the number of Egyptians who are venturing into cyberspace and blogging totals an estimated 160,000, according to a recent report. Titled "Egyptian Blogs: New Social Space, the report was released by the Egyptian Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC). It details the usage and content of Egyptian and Arab blogs. The report found that the phenomenon of blogging is gaining ground in Egypt. According to statistics by the International Telecommunication Union, roughly one out of four broadband subscribers and one out of 20 internet users blog. Most of these blogs are Arabic-based, with 76.8 percent of bloggers writing in Arabic, 20.8 percent writing in mixed Arabic and English, and only 9.6 percent writing in just English. Egyptian blogs account for more than 30 percent of all Arabic-language blogs. The report also found most bloggers are young men in their 20s. Only 27 percent of bloggers are female, and over half of all bloggers are between the ages of 20 and 30. Wael Abbas, blogger and activist who has reported on police brutality in his blog and has been writing since 2004, attributed the growing popularity of blogging among younger Egyptians to the lack of other avenues of expression within society. "I think more people are blogging because there is a need, especially for young people, to express themselves because they have no other outlet, Abbas said. "The only way to express themselves is online. Bloggers have been using their pages to express themselves and their opinions on a variety of topics. Blogs can be divided into categories devoted to subjects such as politics, entertainment, art and culture, or personal journals, and can be written for personal use or for public discussion. "There are those who just blog generally, there are bloggers who are activists, there are bloggers who write for a small circle of friends who have passwords and usernames to access the blog, Abbas said. "There are all types of bloggers. Though blogs are often thought of as very personal endeavors, the fact that they are published on the public domain of the internet often discourages users from revealing their true identity. Abbas said while most known bloggers, particularly activists, use their real names, many others use the cover of anonymity to express themselves. "The conditions of the blogosphere in Egypt at the moment and all the pressure in the media and the interference force many to blog anonymously. They don't want to be known to security, or even known to their family - especially young people who are blogging about their private lives and their beliefs, Abbas said. Recently, some bloggers relinquished anonymous writing and turned to the publishing industry. At the end of 2007, three female bloggers were approached by Al-Shorouk Publishing House to compile their popular blogs into three books, that proved to be as popular among the readers. To read the report visit: http://www.idsc.gov.eg/Upload/Publications/blogs%20final-2.pdf
